Anyway, after we burned the evil board, we had no easy way to communicate with the spirits, short of total possession, which is somewhat unpredictable. Then one of us had the nifty, but hardly unique, idea of using the computer's keyboard. We held hands, meshing our fingers together, and put a pencil (eraser end down) in between our fingers. We then held this bionic planchette (I think that's how you spell it) a few inches above the keyboard and watched it go. We got some (barely) interesting stuff out of it, and best of all, nobody had to act as scribe since everything that was typed went directly into a file. And keyboards have an interesting character called a space. Ouija boards don't.

Well, when we got jaded with the keyboard, into the flames it went, hissing and clicking all the way, all keyed up and board (yawn), just like the evil Ouija board that preceded it. By now we were pretty tired of seeing what the dead people, aliens, demons, subconscious egos, what have you, had to say about anything, and we were ready to harness the Ouija energy for pure enjoyment. By the way, I have typed this entire page, and many others, using only my trackball, cutting and pasting from pre-typed alphabets. Hope you're impressed.

What finally came out of these experiments in mad pseudo-science was what we call Ouija dancing (pronounced, in these parts, as "WEE-jee-DAN-sing"). The simplest Ouija dance is performed with two people -- music is optional: 

1. Face each other, loosely clasping hands (we've found meshing fingers is best, because it is easier to relax). 
2. Relax. Be patient. Clear your heads.
3. Your hands will move. Follow them with your bodies.

With more people, hold hands in a ring. Ouija dances with four or more dancers produce amazing spinning knot works. Sometimes after untying itself, everyone in the ring is facing outwards! As with all dances and other methods of "opening doors that cannot be closed", the more you practice the better you get. The most people we have ever Ouija-danced with at one time was five, but John wants to someday get together 13 or so.

Try it, and let us know how it goes, OK?

Update: OK, so John was finally able to find 13 or so people to try the dance. Interestingly enough, it was at a friend's ballroom where people gather twice a month to dance (more classical stuff though). John explained to everyone how to Ouija dance, then some music was put on, and everyone stood in a large circle with hands meshed. Slowly (starting, not surprisingly, with those who had done the dance before) hands started moving, while others stayed still. Little by little everyone's hands got into the dance, raising, lowering, and circling. Then the entire circle began to spin and "breathe" in a weird rhythmic undulation. It wasn't long before the circle became a complicated knot. A lot of dancers were giggling, and other spectators jumped in and connected to take part in the fun. Eventually the knot was tied too tight to move much, but by then the music was over anyhow.

Update Feb-2004: Joshua sent us this Ouija dancing report: